The subject of this present invention is a device and a fitting method, in particular for the automatic fitting of an elastic element around an element, in particular, a rectilinear element, such as around an assembly composed of a vine shoot and a support wire for example. The invention therefore finds a particular application in the securing of branches such as vine shoots to a support such as a support wire.
Generally speaking, in both the horticulture and wine-growing domains, one seeks to guide the growth of a plant along a support, such as a cordon a trainer, a rope, a support wire or other. This support, along which the plant is fixed, can be rectilinear or curvilinear, horizontal or vertical, and is thus used to assist the growth of the plant. It is therefore necessary to keep the plant attached to this support at one or more places.
Most of the known securing methods and systems consist of a binding or clamping of the plant onto its support. This type of securing method and system is always accompanied by a risk of damage to the plant, or indeed of insufficiently effective clamping.
We are also familiar with elastic elements having the advantage of reducing the risks of damaging the plant while still providing effective securing onto the support. It is possible in particular to use elastic securing elements including a closed loop, a head, and a neck connecting this head to the closed loop, in which the head is extended by a top stub. Ideally, the closed loop is also extended by a bottom stub, thus facilitating the fitting of the elastic element by hand. In fact, the stage that consists of inserting the prominent head into the closed loop is facilitated by the fact that the user is able to grasp this bottom stub, instead of directly grasping the closed loop in order to stretch the elastic element. As a consequence, the hand of the user does not impede the passage of the head into the closed loop.
The bottom stub can be diametrically opposite to the top stub. These elastic elements can be made of rubber.
In order to facilitate the transportation and the fitting of these elastic elements in large quantities and over large areas, they can be designed to form part of a prepared bundle, which includes at least two of these elastic securing elements. These elastic elements are connected together by a first link at the level of their respective top stubs, with their respective closed loops, heads and necks not connected together. Ideally, these elastic elements are also connected together by a second link at the level of their respective bottom stubs. Thus, with the elastic elements also connected together at the level of the bottom stub extending the closed loop, the latter no longer tends to float since it is not left free, to the extent that the hooking of this lower part of the closed loop to a fitting device, is rendered more efficient, since the maintenance of this device in the closed loop is more reliable. Moreover, the tearing off or detachment of an elastic element, in order to install it, takes place with no risk of damage to the closed loop.
One of the first and second links can be a partial link, achieved for example by pre-cutting, so as to facilitate still further the later separation of the elastic elements by tearing at this partial link.
The fitting of these elastic elements is finicky and often painful work. The fitting conditions, outdoors, in areas under cultivation and in large quantities, especially in the case of wine-growing, are such that a considerable time is required to fit this type of elastic element.
If they are sufficiently strong and durable, these elastic elements are also difficult to fit by hand because of the significant force needed to stretch them during the fitting process, which renders this repeated action of fitting them a painful one.
Moreover, during the growth of the plant, it is sometimes necessary to either move the elastic element or to add a new one, which calls for regular repetition of this process for the fitting of these elastic elements.
There is therefore a need for a device and a method for fitting an elastic element, around a rectilinear element in particular, such as around an assembly composed of a vine shoot and a support wire for example, which allows the aforementioned drawbacks to be circumvented. In particular, there is a requirement for a device and a method allowing rapid, simple and automatic fitting of a large number of elastic elements.